Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding Commodity Boards To Propose Projects and Contribute Funding Under the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant Programs, Implementation, 58727-58728 [2014-23352]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 2014 / Notices found by visiting the Board’s Web site at: https://www.lbl.org/ LRMPadvisoryboard.html. Dated: September 23, 2014. Tina R. Tilley, Area Supervisor, Land Between The Lakes. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST. All meetings are subject to cancellation. For updated status of meeting prior to attendance, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Administration Building, 100 Van Morgan Drive, Golden Pond, Kentucky. Written comments may be submitted as described under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. All comments, including names and addresses, when provided, are placed in the record and available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments received at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Please call ahead to facilitate entry into the building. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda L. Taylor, Advisory Board Liaison, Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, 100 Van Morgan Drive, Golden Pond, Kentucky 42211, or by phone at 270–924–2002. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the meeting is to: (1) Discuss Environmental Education; and (2) Effectively communicate future land management plan activities. The meeting is open to the public. The Board’s discussion is limited to Forest Service staff and board members. Individuals wishing to provide related matters to the attention of the Board may submit written comments no later than October 1, 2014. Written comments must be sent to Tina Tilley, Area Supervisor, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, 100 Van Morgan Drive, Golden Pond, Kentucky 42211. Meeting Accommodations: If you are a person requiring reasonable accommodations, please make requests in advance for sign language interpreting, assistive listening devices or other reasonable accommodations for access to the facility or proceedings by contacting the person listed in the section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All reasonable accommodation requests are managed on a case by case basis. [FR Doc. 2014–23232 Filed 9–29–14; 8:45 am] tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES DATES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:09 Sep 29, 2014 Jkt 232001 BILLING CODE 3411–15–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE National Institute of Food and Agriculture Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding Commodity Boards To Propose Projects and Contribute Funding Under the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant Programs, Implementation National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA. AGENCY: Notice of Web-based listening session and request for stakeholder input. ACTION: As part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) strategy to successfully implement Section 7404 of Public Law 113–79, the Agricultural Act of 2014, NIFA is soliciting stakeholder input on how it will establish procedures, including timelines, under which an entity established under a commodity promotion law (as such term is defined under section 7401(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014) or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State entity) may submit proposals for Requests for Applications (RFA)to be competed as part of the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grant programs. If proposals are accepted for funding, the proposed RFA will be competed as part of the AFRI competitive grants program RFAs and entities eligible for AFRI awards will be able to compete for award. In addition, as a condition of funding the grant proposed by a commodity board, NIFA shall require a contribution of funds equal to the amount of the grant. NIFA will be holding Web-based listening sessions in order to solicit stakeholder input on this new challenge area. The focus of the Web-based listening sessions will be to gather stakeholder input that will be used in developing a process for soliciting, evaluating, and prioritizing AFRI Request for Applications (RFA) submissions from the previously stated commodity board entities or their equivalent. All comments must be received by close of business on October 16, 2014, to be considered in the initial planning of the FY 2015 cycle. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 58727 The Web-based listening sessions will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (ET), and Thursday, October 16, 2014, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET. All written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m., ET on Thursday, October 16, 2014. ADDRESSES: The Web-based listening sessions will be hosted using Adobe Connect. On October 9th and October 16th, please access the following Web site, https://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/ cbsls/. In addition, audio conference call capabilities can be accessed at 1– 888–844–9904, participant code 4896371#. You may submit comments, identified by NIFA–2014–004, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Email: vbest@nifa.usda.gov. Include NIFA–2014–004 in the subject line of the message. Fax: 202–690–0289. Mail: Paper, disk or CD–ROM submissions should be submitted to Commodity Boards; Office of the Administrator, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 2201, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250–2201. Hand Delivery/Courier: Centers of Excellence—Office of the Administrator, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 4248, Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 20024. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and reference to NIFA–2014–004. All comments received will be posted to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Valeria Best, (202) 720–8540 (phone), (202) 690–1260 (fax), or vbest@ nifa.usda.gov. DATES: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comment Procedures Persons wishing to present oral comments during the Web-based listening session on either Thursday, October 9 or Thursday, October 16, 2014 are requested to pre-register by contacting Ms. Valeria Best at (202) 720–8540, by fax at (202) 690–1260 or by email to vbest@nifa.usda.gov. Participants may reserve one 5-minute comment period. More time may be available, depending on the number of people wishing to make a presentation. Reservations will be confirmed on a E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM 30SEN1 58728 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 30, 2014 / Notices tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES first-come, first-served basis. All other participants may provide comments during the Web-based listening session if time permits, or submit written comments. All written comments must be received by close of business October 16, 2014, to be considered. All comments and the official transcript of the Web-based listening session, when they become available, may be reviewed on the NIFA Web page, https:// www.nifa.usda.gov, for six months. Background and Purpose NIFA is moving forward to implement Section 7404 of the Agricultural Act of 2014. Beginning in October of 2014, this section requires that the NIFA ‘‘establish procedures, including timelines, under which an entity established under a commodity promotion law (as such term is defined under section 501(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401(a))) or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State entity) may directly submit to the Secretary for consideration proposals for requests for applications’’ as part of the AFRI competitive grants program. These proposals for RFAs must address particular issues related to the AFRI priority areas. A program synopsis of the AFRI programs, including program priorities, can be viewed at the following URL: https:// www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/afri/afri_ synopsis.html. Language in 7 U.S.C. 7401(a) defines an entity established under a commodity promotion law as a program regarding an agricultural commodity that includes a combination of promotion, research, industry information, or consumer information activities, is funded by mandatory assessments on producers or processors, and is designed to maintain or expand markets and uses for the commodity (as determined by the Secretary). As of this writing, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has informed NIFA that 22 organizations are federally recognized that meet the definition of this organization: Hass Avocado Board, Mushroom Council, Beef Board, Paper and Paper-Based Packaging, Blueberry Council, Peanut Board, Christmas Tree Board, Popcorn Board, Cotton Board, Pork Board, Dairy Board, Potato Board, Egg Board, Processed Raspberry Council, Fluid Milk Board, Softwood Lumber Board, Honey Board, Sorghum Board, Lamb Board, Soybean Board, Mango Board, Watermelon Board. However, the agency is interested in stakeholder views regarding the best methods of identification and outreach to ‘‘other equivalent State’’ entities that VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:09 Sep 29, 2014 Jkt 232001 are established under state commodity promotion laws, include a combination of promotion, research, industry information, or consumer information activities, are funded by state-mandated assessments on producers or processors, and are designed to maintain or expand markets and uses for the commodity. It is important to note that grants funded under this authority will require the commodity boards who submitted proposals for AFRI RFAs to match the awarded AFRI grants with an equal contribution of funds. As the Agricultural Act of 2014 provides a fairly broad authority for NIFA to solicit and evaluate proposals for RFAs that address particular areas of interest to commodity boards, it will be important that NIFA hear from the community about how NIFA should do the following: Attempt to guide the priority development of AFRI RFAs that the commodity boards or their equivalent may submit; develop evaluation criteria for selecting RFAs submitted by commodity boards; incorporate selected RFAs into the larger framework of the AFRI program; set upper and lower limits on commodity board proposals; and determine the appropriate mix of RFAs selected from proposals submitted by national and state commodity boards. NIFA is considering using a process where the agency would issue a request for applications from commodity boards or their equivalent entities that is carefully timed to fit into the existing AFRI RFA development and application review process. The proposals for RFAs would be subject to internal NIFA review and evaluation prior to selection. Successful commodity board or their equivalent entity RFAs would be released as part of the standard AFRI RFAs. Applications submitted in response to commodity board RFAs would be reviewed alongside the other applications within the same AFRI program area through the current competitive peer review process. During the commodity board mechanism’s initial year, NIFA may conduct a pilot program that would limit RFA proposals to program areas within the AFRI Foundational program. This limitation would not itself limit either the number of RFAs approved, or the number of awards ultimately granted, as a result of this new authority in the pilot year. More than one award could conceivably be issued per Commodity Board RFA. However, it is important to note that AFRI Foundational awards are typically limited to $500,000 each. Furthermore, NIFA may institute additional restrictions in the pilot year. PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Implementation Plans NIFA plans to consider stakeholder input received from the Web-based listening sessions as well as other written comments in developing a process to implement the Commodity Board provision in FY 2015. Done at Washington, DC this 24th day of September, 2014. Sonny Ramaswamy, Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture. [FR Doc. 2014–23352 Filed 9–29–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Current Population Survey (CPS) Basic Demographic Items U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on or before December 1, 2014. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at jjessup@doc.gov). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Gregory Weyland, U.S. Census Bureau, 7H106A, Washington, DC 20133–8400 at (301) 763–3806 (or via the internet at Gregory.D.Weyland@ census.gov). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: I. Abstract The Census Bureau plans to request clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of same sex marriage data as part of basic demographic information on the Current Population Survey (CPS) beginning in June 2015. The current clearance expires July 31, 2017. E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM 30SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58727-58728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23352]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding Commodity 
Boards To Propose Projects and Contribute Funding Under the 
Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant Programs, 
Implementation

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Web-based listening session and request for 
stakeholder input.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: As part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's 
(NIFA) strategy to successfully implement Section 7404 of Public Law 
113-79, the Agricultural Act of 2014, NIFA is soliciting stakeholder 
input on how it will establish procedures, including timelines, under 
which an entity established under a commodity promotion law (as such 
term is defined under section 7401(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014) 
or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State entity) may 
submit proposals for Requests for Applications (RFA)to be competed as 
part of the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) 
competitive grant programs. If proposals are accepted for funding, the 
proposed RFA will be competed as part of the AFRI competitive grants 
program RFAs and entities eligible for AFRI awards will be able to 
compete for award. In addition, as a condition of funding the grant 
proposed by a commodity board, NIFA shall require a contribution of 
funds equal to the amount of the grant.
    NIFA will be holding Web-based listening sessions in order to 
solicit stakeholder input on this new challenge area. The focus of the 
Web-based listening sessions will be to gather stakeholder input that 
will be used in developing a process for soliciting, evaluating, and 
prioritizing AFRI Request for Applications (RFA) submissions from the 
previously stated commodity board entities or their equivalent.
    All comments must be received by close of business on October 16, 
2014, to be considered in the initial planning of the FY 2015 cycle.

DATES: The Web-based listening sessions will be held on Thursday, 
October 9, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time 
(ET), and Thursday, October 16, 2014, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET. 
All written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m., ET on Thursday, 
October 16, 2014.

ADDRESSES: The Web-based listening sessions will be hosted using Adobe 
Connect. On October 9th and October 16th, please access the following 
Web site, https://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/cbsls/. In addition, audio 
conference call capabilities can be accessed at 1-888-844-9904, 
participant code 4896371.
    You may submit comments, identified by NIFA-2014-004, by any of the 
following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: vbest@nifa.usda.gov. Include NIFA-2014-004 in the subject 
line of the message.
    Fax: 202-690-0289.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
Commodity Boards; Office of the Administrator, National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 2201, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2201.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Centers of Excellence--Office of the 
Administrator, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Room 4248, Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20024.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and reference to NIFA-2014-004. All comments received will be posted to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Valeria Best, (202) 720-8540 
(phone), (202) 690-1260 (fax), or vbest@nifa.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comment Procedures

    Persons wishing to present oral comments during the Web-based 
listening session on either Thursday, October 9 or Thursday, October 
16, 2014 are requested to pre-register by contacting Ms. Valeria Best 
at (202) 720-8540, by fax at (202) 690-1260 or by email to 
vbest@nifa.usda.gov. Participants may reserve one 5-minute comment 
period. More time may be available, depending on the number of people 
wishing to make a presentation. Reservations will be confirmed on a

[[Page 58728]]

first-come, first-served basis. All other participants may provide 
comments during the Web-based listening session if time permits, or 
submit written comments. All written comments must be received by close 
of business October 16, 2014, to be considered. All comments and the 
official transcript of the Web-based listening session, when they 
become available, may be reviewed on the NIFA Web page, https://www.nifa.usda.gov, for six months.

Background and Purpose

    NIFA is moving forward to implement Section 7404 of the 
Agricultural Act of 2014. Beginning in October of 2014, this section 
requires that the NIFA ``establish procedures, including timelines, 
under which an entity established under a commodity promotion law (as 
such term is defined under section 501(a) of the Federal Agriculture 
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401(a))) or a State 
commodity board (or other equivalent State entity) may directly submit 
to the Secretary for consideration proposals for requests for 
applications'' as part of the AFRI competitive grants program.
    These proposals for RFAs must address particular issues related to 
the AFRI priority areas. A program synopsis of the AFRI programs, 
including program priorities, can be viewed at the following URL: 
https://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/afri/afrisynopsis.html.
    Language in 7 U.S.C. 7401(a) defines an entity established under a 
commodity promotion law as a program regarding an agricultural 
commodity that includes a combination of promotion, research, industry 
information, or consumer information activities, is funded by mandatory 
assessments on producers or processors, and is designed to maintain or 
expand markets and uses for the commodity (as determined by the 
Secretary). As of this writing, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service 
has informed NIFA that 22 organizations are federally recognized that 
meet the definition of this organization: Hass Avocado Board, Mushroom 
Council, Beef Board, Paper and Paper-Based Packaging, Blueberry 
Council, Peanut Board, Christmas Tree Board, Popcorn Board, Cotton 
Board, Pork Board, Dairy Board, Potato Board, Egg Board, Processed 
Raspberry Council, Fluid Milk Board, Softwood Lumber Board, Honey 
Board, Sorghum Board, Lamb Board, Soybean Board, Mango Board, 
Watermelon Board. However, the agency is interested in stakeholder 
views regarding the best methods of identification and outreach to 
``other equivalent State'' entities that are established under state 
commodity promotion laws, include a combination of promotion, research, 
industry information, or consumer information activities, are funded by 
state-mandated assessments on producers or processors, and are designed 
to maintain or expand markets and uses for the commodity.
    It is important to note that grants funded under this authority 
will require the commodity boards who submitted proposals for AFRI RFAs 
to match the awarded AFRI grants with an equal contribution of funds.
    As the Agricultural Act of 2014 provides a fairly broad authority 
for NIFA to solicit and evaluate proposals for RFAs that address 
particular areas of interest to commodity boards, it will be important 
that NIFA hear from the community about how NIFA should do the 
following: Attempt to guide the priority development of AFRI RFAs that 
the commodity boards or their equivalent may submit; develop evaluation 
criteria for selecting RFAs submitted by commodity boards; incorporate 
selected RFAs into the larger framework of the AFRI program; set upper 
and lower limits on commodity board proposals; and determine the 
appropriate mix of RFAs selected from proposals submitted by national 
and state commodity boards.
    NIFA is considering using a process where the agency would issue a 
request for applications from commodity boards or their equivalent 
entities that is carefully timed to fit into the existing AFRI RFA 
development and application review process. The proposals for RFAs 
would be subject to internal NIFA review and evaluation prior to 
selection. Successful commodity board or their equivalent entity RFAs 
would be released as part of the standard AFRI RFAs. Applications 
submitted in response to commodity board RFAs would be reviewed 
alongside the other applications within the same AFRI program area 
through the current competitive peer review process.
    During the commodity board mechanism's initial year, NIFA may 
conduct a pilot program that would limit RFA proposals to program areas 
within the AFRI Foundational program. This limitation would not itself 
limit either the number of RFAs approved, or the number of awards 
ultimately granted, as a result of this new authority in the pilot 
year. More than one award could conceivably be issued per Commodity 
Board RFA. However, it is important to note that AFRI Foundational 
awards are typically limited to $500,000 each. Furthermore, NIFA may 
institute additional restrictions in the pilot year.

Implementation Plans

    NIFA plans to consider stakeholder input received from the Web-
based listening sessions as well as other written comments in 
developing a process to implement the Commodity Board provision in FY 
2015.

    Done at Washington, DC this 24th day of September, 2014.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2014-23352 Filed 9-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P
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